"The question is not whether we will be extremists,
but what kind of extremists we will be . . .
The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."-- Reverend Martin Luther King

To live content with small means,
To seek elegance rather than luxury,
and refinement rather than fashion,
to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich,
to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly,
to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart, to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never - in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.-- William Ellery Channing

Mainstream media stories, and many members of the public, will often refer to the efforts of small bands of people who want to stop some defenseless animal from being killed or who want to end the destruction of the Earth's forests and oceans as being "extreme."

To me, the systematic destruction of the Earth's oceans, forests, and atmosphere to increase the profit of a few shareholders, the killing of animals to obtain furs for the rich, and children who starve and die in the midst of vast abundance because profit for few is the top priority is extreme.

Think about your own reactions for a moment to the events listed below. What is your gut feeling? Do they seem extreme?

Many activists, environmentalists, and scientists recommend that fish not be consumed at all due to the high levels of mercury that has been found in so many species.

Every year in Seattle, the Northwest Animal Rights Network sponsors a demonstration against the Ringling Brothers circus when it comes to town. The circus train is met with banners, a protest march, and speeches decrying the cruelty of the circus.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship, the "Farley Mowat," with 45 volunteers and Captain Paul Watson aboard, sailed to the icy waters of Antarctica several months ago to attempt to stop the slaughter of whales in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. Their plan was to physically stop the whaling boats by thrusting their vessel between the whale and the pursuing ship. But they found no Japanese whalers, although the whaling ships were operating somewhere in the enormous expanse of the Southern Ocean.

Watson says these whalers broke laws that govern whaling by the International Whaling Commission, International Laws of the Sea, Antarctic Environmental Protection Act, The Convention of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and The World Charter for Nature.

Now look at the activities below that are triggering the above actions. What is your gut reaction to them? Do they seem extreme? Or do they seem to be just the consequences of progress?

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) website says, "A joint UN - WHO [United Nations - World Health Organization] expert food committee has just recommended a new international standard for mercury in seafood that continues to allow a dangerous mercury exposure level, and is particularly threatening to infant children whose developing brains may be exposed to twice the amount of mercury that the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. EPA consider safe."

Mercury pollution comes from many sources, but especially from burning coal to produce power in plants that pollute oceans and contaminate seafood. The EWG goes on to say, "The Food and Drug Administration continues to fail to protect consumers by not adequately informing the public to avoid certain contaminated fish species, including canned tuna, which are especially risky for children and pregnant women."

From the Charity Wire website, "In an unannounced inspection of Ringling Bros.' Florida breeding facility in January 1999, federal inspectors were shocked to find baby elephants with 'large visible lesions' on their legs. The federal inspectors learned from Ringling Bros. employees that this was the result of the 'routine separation process' that is used to take nursing babies away from their mothers so they can perform in the circus. With the use of ropes and chains around the baby elephant's necks and legs, an official report from federal inspectors stated, 'Ringling Bros. routinely handles its baby elephants this way.'"

In a letter to Feld Entertainment, owner of Ringling Bros., U.S. Department of Agriculture officials stated this practice causes "unnecessary trauma, behavioral stress, and physical harm' to the elephants."

Professor Frank Cipriano of San Francisco State University has uncovered the fact that whales caught by Japan's illegal whaling fleet in Antarctica and the North Pacific are being used in dog food. The DNA found in the dog food is proof that Antarctic Minke whales and dolphins are being used in the Japanese pet food industry.

At the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting held in June in Berlin, Japan unsuccessfully attempted to win a quota of whales for coastal communities. The Japanese proposal was voted down by the majority of the members of the IWC.

According to Captain Watson, "Here we have Japan claiming that there is a subsistence need for whale meat in Japanese communities and at the same time they are directing a surplus from their illegal activities in Antarctica into pet food."

The Sea Shepherd website says, "Whale and dolphin meat contain high levels of heavy metals, especially mercury. The level of toxicity in whale and dolphin meat has discouraged many Japanese consumers and is causing a surplus. This surplus is being processed into pet food. There are no other vessels, no governments, no other organizations that are stopping the illegal whaling activities of the Japanese, or enforcing the International Laws and Regulations that are made to help protect and preserve these endangered species. "

Circus elephant in chains (Photo credit unknown)

Most of us would classify the activist actions in the first list as extreme while the second list just represents progress and the quest for a better life. This is not a natural, instinctive classification. It is one that has been carefully developed in us for the last 200 years in the United States by those who are interested only in short term gain.

Could anyone interested in a humane, sustainable future with abundance for all support the second list? The fundamental assumptions that we grew up with and live with today may ALL need to be thrown out. We need new assumptions, values, and ethics.

The "American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language" defines the word extreme to mean "extending far beyond the norm." It is shocking to me that some people can define toxic pollution and the resulting suffering and cruelty to be the norm.

Think about all the things we do each day that we call normal and routine. All the driving, consuming, wasting, and throwing away we do are just a part of just another day. Look at what a routine day in the United States brings:

200,000 tons of edible food is thrown out

313 million gallons of fuel, enough to drain 26 tractor-trailer trucks every minute, is used

18 million tons of raw materials are taken from the Earth

6.8 billion gallons of drinking water is used to flush toilets

1 million bushels of litter is thrown out of car windows

10,000 minks are added to the closets and coat racks of the wealthy

$200 million is spent on advertising

100 million board feet of wood is sawed

250,000 tons of steel is used

187,000 tons of paper is used

What if we all decide that we will work hard to define a new norm for us all? What if a normal day became driving as little as we can, buying nothing other than what we need to survive, not watching TV, not throwing anything out, and doing something to help someone who has nothing? What's so extreme about that?

6. Find out who your Congressional representatives are and email them. Tell them they need to redefine their concept of what is extreme. If you know your Zip code, you can find them at: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ziptoit.html